Dick Struggles In Loss To LSU

LITTLE ROCK — Following a fourth-quarter interception, Arkansas quarterback Casey Dick slowly strolled back to his team's bench with his helmet off, taking a seat by himself.

With his elbows on his knees and head down, Dick thought about what could have been Friday afternoon in War Memorial Stadium.

For Dick, the Razorbacks' passing game never got off the ground.

Dick completed only 3 of 17 passes for 29 yards and one touchdown against LSU, recording the worst performance in his young Arkansas career.

"I obviously didn't play to the best of my ability," Dick said. "I'll take the blame.

"I didn't really get into a groove from the get-go. It's just tough to get into that groove once you've started the game."

The longest pass Dick completed came in the second quarter when he rolled to the right side of the field and threw a 21-yard touchdown pass to Marcus Monk, cutting LSU's lead in half.

"I felt pretty good after that touchdown," Monk said. "I felt like we were really back in the game. But for the most part, we just couldn't get the passing game going."

Comparatively, Arkansas running back Darren McFadden had the better passing day with 33 yards, four more than Dick on one fewer completion.

Arkansas coach Houston Nutt said after the game that he never had any intention of benching Dick in favor of backup freshman Mitch Mustain.

"He was a little bit off," Nutt said. "I thought he would get going and make some plays for us with that type of atmosphere."

Late in the fourth quarter and down 31-26, the Razorbacks had a chance to take the lead with a drive that started from their own 27.

Dick, however, threw four straight incompletions.

"This will be one of those games where you look back on opportunities that we didn't convert," Arkansas offensive coordinator Gus Malzahn said. "LSU has the No. 1 defense in the country. We did some good things to keep them off balance, but we didn't get it done in the end."